History of Bennett-Hemenway

History of Bennett-Hemenway

At the annual Town Meeting in 1945, a School Survey Committee of five
members was appointed to study the need for expansion and growth of
schools in Natick. This Committee reported back in 1949 with
recommendations to build elementary schools in East Natick, West Natick,
and most essentially in North Natick, to correct overcrowded
conditions. Therefore, in accordance with a vote at the annual Town
Meeting of 1950, the Bennett-Hemenway School of North Natick was
conceived in the minds of the School Building Committee. The original
building opened in 1952. After almost 50 years of use, the old Ben-Hem
was replaced. The new building was opened in 2001 and currently has an
enrollment of 600 students grades K to 4.

Bennett-Hemenway School was named after two young men from North Natick
who gave their lives to their country during World War II. Harold
Bennett was born in Natick in 1924 and attended Natick schools. He was
killed in action in 1945. Donald Hemenway was born in Worcester,
Massachusetts, in 1917, and had his basic schooling in the Natick school
system. He was killed in action in 1943.